Tourism Kelowna, along with regional, provincial, and national destination marketing partners, was recently in San Francisco, California, pitching stories to key U.S.-based travel media outlets and writers.  The annual event, organized by Destination Canada, brings together approximately 275 destination representatives and travel writers to connect and pitch stories for upcoming media coverage.  

Photo of Canada Media Marketplace

Tourism Kelowna had a full roster of media appointments at Canada Media Marketplace, meeting with 24 travel writers representing outlets including Northwest Travel & Life, Hemispheres, AFAR, USA Today, The Robb Report, Alaska Airlines Beyond Magazine, Vogue Entertaining & Travel, Outside Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, Wine Enthusiast, Sunset, Travel + Leisure Magazine, and many more. The two-day conference also included opportunities to hear updates from Destination British Columbia and Destination Canada. 

Photo of Canada Media Marketplace

While in San Francisco, Tourism Kelowna partnered with the BC Wine Institute to host a dinner for media. The dinner featured VQA wines from the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys and featured an Okanagan-inspired menu planned and prepared by Chef Roger Sleiman of Old Vines Restaurant at Quails' Gate Winery. The dinner highlighted Kelowna and area as a Chef's Playground - an abundant wine-growing region producing the finest fruits and vegetables with endless outdoor adventure activities.  

Photo of media dinner

If you have stories you'd like media to cover, please send them to Jennifer Widmer at jennifer.widmer@tourismkelowna.com. Tourism Kelowna will also be attending the Travel Media Association of Canada conference later in spring and Go Media in the fall to pitch stories to Canadian and international travel writers.